Alternative locations boost attendance, participation at DSME classes

NEW ORLEANS — Diabetes educators frustrated with a lack of attendance at diabetes self-management education classes should consider holding sessions in alternative locations, such as firehouses, libraries or senior centers, according to a presenter here.

Joan Geohegan, RN, BSN, CDE, program coordinator for the Northern Kentucky Health Department in Fort Mitchell, said that when holding the 8-hour DSME sessions in locations that better suited clients’ needs — and offering a few, low-cost incentives — attendance increased and more people were engaged for longer periods of time.

“We attempt to make it a lot of fun,” Geohegan said during the presentation. “We’re unpredictable. They never know what we’re going to say next. And we feed them.”

The nationwide CDC statistics for attendance are grim, Geohegan said: Only 6.8% of adults with newly diagnosed diabetes access DSME programs. In Kentucky, where the number hovers around 4%, Geohegan said, moving education classes to locations like the local firehouse provided a number of advantages — some of them unexpected.

“We find fire houses with training rooms, and their set-up is usually classroom style, and they’re free,” Geohegan said. “And they usually have audio-visual equipment ready.”

Public libraries, Geohegan said, are also free, and come with the additional benefit of built-in advertising if the library is willing to promote the program to patrons. Library hours, she noted, can be restricting, sometimes making it difficult to hold the daylong classes.

Apartments for older adults offer another option, where a built-in audience is more likely to show up and stay for the duration of the class, Geohegan said. Small prizes from local dollar stores often help increase attendance, she said, and food is served and used as an opportunity to teach about proper nutrition for diabetes or prediabetes.

“The residents want something to do, the locals know each other and have that built-in support after the class,” Geohegan said. “The cons are that visitors can come and go, there are often other activities in the space, and residents may wander in for prizes and lunch, and then leave.”

Other locations include community centers, with a focus on choosing centers that are located along a bus or transit line. For the two community sessions Geohegan offered, she said she was surprised to discover that attendees traveled to the centers from a variety of surrounding towns, some as far as 15 to 20 miles away. – by Regina Schaffer

Reference:

Geohegan, J. T02. Presented at: The American Association of Diabetes Educators Annual Meeting; Aug. 5-8, 2015; New Orleans.

Disclosure: Geohegan reports no relevant financial disclosures.